Finally
by stainedglasshorse
Summary: A strange little story I whipped up...what will happen when Brennan finally realizes what she is missing. What she hasn't allowed herself to feel? Rating on the ubersafe side...its not bad.


_Hey all! This is a quick little fic I whipped up while I was bored tonight. It is a oneshot right now...I can see where I might take it..but it would be a 2-3shot tops, not a continuing story. And that depends on what you guys think. It is loosely based off the lyrics of a song, Nobody by Five For Fighting (who have AMAZING lyrics- I highly reccomend their music) Its really just a 'what if' thing. What if one day Brennan finally woke up? Because in my opinion...it has to happen someday. Not like this though. Oh and I absolutely adore rain...it just seems so raw and pure...just like love. Ok. This is where my rambling ends. Review if you like it! Review if you don't! Review if the sun came out today! And tell me if you want more or want to leave it here! xoxo~sgh_

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_Nothing can be better than baring yourself for another..._

_Open for scrutiny, ridicule, and indulgence_

_Therein lies the balls, and the mind, and the heart..._

_As fear is truly the Mindkiller..._

_When nothing is left..._

_Everything is gained..._

She stood next to her car, rain saturating her clothes as she felt the realization coming over her. She cried out and knew there were tears mingling with the droplets of rain that rolled down her face. She finally understood what everyone had been trying to tell her, she could only hope it wasn't too late.

She yanked the door of the vehicle open and jammed the key in the ignition, trying to regain control of her accelerated breathing. She felt herself sobbing loudly, allowing herself to feel. It felt so good and so heart wrenchingly painful at the same time, so different. She finally felt everything that people had been trying to convince her of all these years, the decade and a half of refusing to believe had finally been broken as she felt herself overwhelmed.

There was no grand gesture or momentous event that caused this, quite the opposite. She followed the same routine, the same answers to the same people to the same questions day in and day out. She had no idea when her life had become some predictable joke, but it had. Angela had stopped inviting her to bars and Cam stopped mentioning the long hours she worked and even her partner seemed less enthusiastic about introducing her to worldly experiences. Not that she blamed them the least bit, she had been a royal bitch when they tried to help her…she had been a lost cause.

She yelled at the red light, screaming obscenities at the shining beacon that impeded her progress.

She hoped she wasn't too late.

Pressing the gas pedal she heard her tires screech loudly as she sped on the slick pavement. She was so close to her destination…to knowing if her epiphany was going to be her salvation or her destruction.

Sliding to a halt in front of her destination she jumped out of the car and ran across the lawn, slipping several times but not falling. She stood for less than a second in front of the door before she began pounding on it relentlessly. Hearing footsteps approaching she continued her assault of the heavy barrier until it swung open revealing the occupant she was looking for. The occupant who looked beyond shocked to see her standing on his doorstep in a thunderstorm out of breath with a wild look in her eyes. She spoke before he had the chance to open his mouth, deciding to lay it all on the line and knowing that no matter what the outcome she had put herself on the line. She had done it, bared her soul for the one person who had been digging all these years.

"It's you Booth. It always has been, it always will be. I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize, I was such a fool. I know you have probably moved on and hell, I don't care if there is a leggy blonde sitting on your couch, waiting for you to come back. I just…I need for you to know…I finally know. I love you. I really, kinda sorta love you in a crazy pull my hair out kind of way that makes no sense…which is how I know it's real." She paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "I am so sorry it took me so long…I can't explain why or how or even apologize enough to make up for what I put you through all these years…not if I started now and didn't stop till I died. I just needed to tell you how I felt, I needed to put myself out here and know that even if it was too late…you know." She choked and whispered the final words, "I just really hope I'm not too late"

She looked at him and saw a mask of confusion and disbelief cloud his eyes as he stood silently in the doorway. The rain pounded down harder but she didn't feel it, didn't hear the rumbling thunder behind her. She only saw the man in front of her as he tried to come up with something to say.

She was too late. The realization hit her…hard, and she tried to control the wave of nausea that overcame her suddenly. She managed to choke out a sentence before turning and fleeing back to her car, "I…I'm sorry, you moved on already, I'm sorry."

She felt sobs creeping back into her body as her worst nightmare came true, in an evening rainstorm in the middle of April. Even as the sobs made her shake and choke, she realized she had never felt more alive. She had followed her heart and done what was right for her…and it felt amazing. Amazing in a heartbreaking/the love of my life doesn't love me back kinda way…but still.

She tried to find the right key once she reached her car but instead dropped the key ring and when she reached down to pick it up she felt her feet slide out from under her and her body hit the blacktop. She put her head in her hands and cried as she leaned against the side of her car, knowing that the tears would render her eyesight useless until they were gone.

She had no idea how long she sat there, just sobbing as she sat in the road, before she heard a voice. Before she heard THE voice, and it dried her tears almost instantly.

"Here, come on…let me help you up" as his arm stretched out and she accepted, letting him pull her upright. The stood like that for a moment, just studying each other before she opened her mouth. He put his finger on her lips and spoke instead "Ssh. You said your piece. Now it's my turn." He paused and looked into her eyes before continuing "You have no idea what this does to me…you just showing up and suddenly understanding. Suddenly knowing. You aren't high and you aren't drunk- that much I can tell. So I don't know what made you realize this…" He took another breath and saw her eyes drop and her smile vanish and she swallowed thickly. "I don't know but I wonder if you might explain someday because you are NOT too late" With that her eyes whipped back just in time to see him leaning in to claim her lips with his own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he leant down and swept her into his arms with a grin "Let's get you out of this rain….and these wet clothes"  
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Years later as she looked back on how she broke out of her shell she would remember one thing- There is nothing greater then baring yourself for another because the fear only limits you. You have to face the ridicule and the scrutiny because the outcome, well the outcome could be fantastic. She made sure she never forgot the lesson she learned that stormy night, and tried to pass the wisdom along to others in her life.

She took those thoughts with her as she grabbed the camera and joined the smiling blonde boy in graduation robes on the front lawn, who stood proudly next to her husband. Both men smiled broadly and waved her over, proving that no matter what…there always is something to gain.


End file.
